About The Abbey

“In solitude is healing. Speak to your soul. Listen to your heart. Sometimes in the absence of noise we find the answers.”
— Dodinsky

Do you yearn to reconnect with yourself?

Retreat helps you reconnect with your truth and provides motivation to create change from a place of strength and awareness of your true heart and spirit. Within The Abbey’s quiet walls, you have the opportunity to rest, to converse with your soul, and to listen to the deep wisdom within yourself.

We benefit from time away from work/home/family/children and all the demands of daily life when we use that time to catch our breath and just be. A human being, not a human doing.

At times, the need is simply to rest. To get a good night’s sleep. To sleep in. To take a nap. To sit with a cup of tea and gaze out at the sea, the sky, the trees. To rest our bodies and renew our minds.

While at The Abbey, you honor your own practice and process for rest and renewal. To listen and then trust in yourself to know what you need. The Abbey is the vessel that holds and supports you.

Take time to listen to the still voice within.

Hi, I’m Ellen Petersen, owner and host of The Abbey

I have lived and worked in Marblehead, Massachusetts for 34 years, blessed with four incredible children, two rambunctious dogs, and my wonderful husband, Tom. I retired from a 20+-year practice of law in 2005 to transition to a more heart-centered life and practice. I have studied and practiced meditation, taiji, and qigong for 27 years.

My goal is to inspire and guide others to take control of their own health - body, mind, and spirit. I study, practice, and teach qigong, and I offer healing practices including qi healing and vibrational sound therapy. You can learn more about what I do and about qigong, qi healing, and vibrational sound therapy at nourishinglifeqigong.com.

These practices promote a deep connection with self and the Universe, inviting a perspective on life that includes a deeper sense of who we are in this world and how we are truly all connected, with nature and all beings.

Moving to a spiritual concept of self-care

My goal for myself and others is to shift from a secular concept of self-care (something that feels good in the moment but doesn’t sustain us in the long term) to a more spiritual concept of self-care, a path that moves us gently toward compassion, a knowing of our own basic goodness, and living our lives every day manifesting that compassion and goodness for ourselves and others.

Ellen Petersen, qigong, The Abbey

My vision of creating a peaceful sanctuary took almost two years to manifest

In August 2021, I was assisting my qigong master in an intensive 14-day healing workshop. The practices and long days were intense, and during our breaks I found myself meditating in a beautiful garden. During one of these deep meditations, the Universe gently instructed me in my next steps on the spiritual path I was following: to create a quiet, peaceful sanctuary for people to come, rest, renew, and “listen to their souls.” I was deeply inspired and began the quest to find the right space to manifest this vision.

Six months later, I traveled to Mepkin Abbey, a Trappist Monastery in South Carolina, on a silent retreat to listen to my own soul. The few properties I had considered to create this space had fallen through, and I was questioning whether, in fact, I was meant to do this. My time and inner journey at Mepkin Abbey were transformative and confirmed that the next step of my life’s journey was to provide this small refuge for myself and others.

A few months later, I saw “The Abbey” and within five days I had signed an offer to purchase it. I knew in my heart that this was the space that could be transformed into a sanctuary, a refuge, a place for rest and renewal.

It was then a long nine months of lovingly renovating this 1900s cottage by the sea, of which there were many ups and downs, renovation surprises, laughter and tears. But my vision was clear, strong, and unwavering. The Universe had my back (even though it failed to tell me I needed a new roof!).

The Abbey’s name was my husband’s inspiration, and it felt just right. The Abbey opened at the end of January 2023. My heart is full that the vision I experienced in that garden has been manifested in my hometown of Marblehead on the beautiful North Shore of Massachusetts.

A sanctuary in every sense of the word

“The Abbey is an incredibly special place . . . a sanctuary in every sense of the word. You can see and feel the love the minute you walk through the door. Ellen thought of every detail to make a spiritual retreat easy, comfortable, and memorable. Books, singing bowls, comfy sitting chairs in front of a fireplace, the cutest kitchen ever, and a beautiful writing desk in the master bedroom looking out on to the water that practically begs for meditation, journaling, and quiet contemplation. It’s all there for you to enjoy.”

~ Molly W.

  • The Abbey in Marblehead

    The Abbey in Marblehead

  • The Abbey - Meditation room

    Singing bowls, chimes, and gongs

  • The Abbey - Outdoor charm

    Explore outdoors

  • The Abbey - downtown Marblehead

    Downtown is a short drive

  • Create balance

  • Bloom where you are

Rekindle your inner spark with The Abbey’s help

With rest and renewal, something comes — an inner awareness, an answer, a thought or a painting, a song or a paragraph. When the distractions are removed, when we breathe deeply and let go, we rekindle our inner spark, recharge, and manifest what our hearts call us to do.